Safety device for electric railways having sectional conductors



'(No Model.)

L. DION. SAFETY DEVICE EUR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS HAVING SECTIONAL UNITED;STATES PATENT Ormes.

LON DION, OF NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTIIIC RAILWAYS HAVING SECTIONAL CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. eee-,923, dated April2, 1895. Application nea June 14,1894. seria 110.514,59?. (remodel.)

.Z'o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LON DION, a citizen of the United States, residingat Natick, inthe county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented new and useful Improvements i-n Systems of ElectricalPropulsion for Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to systems of electrical propulsion for railwaycars of the type shown and described in applications for Letters Patentof the United States filed concurrently herewith, and numbered in serial514,596, 514,600 and 514,604, in which the car motor is supplied withcurrent by an auxiliary conductor, or feeder, deriving current from amain feeder, on which it lies and fromvwhich" it is lifted by magneticattraction, to make contact with a conducting plate, or series ofplates, covering the conduit, the current communicated to said plate, orplates, being taken off by a trolley, or other means suitable for suchpurpose. Practically, there is no danger, in operating these systems,from accidental short circuits, by which passengers on foot, or animals,can receive shocks. It is my purpose, nevertheless, to make ampleprovision for all contingencies, however remote, not only with the viewof excluding improbabilities, but to remove, also, every possibleobjection which may be offered to the installation of such systems inlarge towns and cities, where the roadway follows streets that areconstantly crowded.

It is the special purpose of my present invention, therefore, to providean automatic signal, operated by electricity, which shallnotify themotorman upon a car of the existence of a condition which would resultin leaving one, or more, of the conducting plates through which themotor receives its current, in electrical Ycommunication with the hightension feeder, thereby causing such plate, or plates, to remain fullycharged.

It is my purpose, also, to provide 'each car with an automatic electricalarm signal of this character, so arranged that the existence of theonly condition from which danger can v be apprehended shall beindicatedto the motorman upon the car, before the latter has passed thepoint at which such condition exists.

My invention also comprises the provision of means whereby the automaticsignals, located at both ends of the car, can be operated at the endwhere the motorman is posted,

the device by means of which current passes Vfined in the claims whichmake part of this specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention pertains tofully understand and to construct and use the same, I will proceed todescribe said invention in detail, reference being had, for thispurpose, to the ac- Vcolnpanying drawing, in which the ligure is asideelevation of a car equipped with my invention, the conduit, or sub-way,with one of the conductors, or feeders, being shown in vertical sectionin the line of the conduit.

' The reference-numeral 1, in said drawing, indicates a railway-car ofthe type in common use upon lines employing electric energy as the meansof propulsion. The motor mechanism used upon these cars is wellunderstood and it is unnecessary to illustrate itin the drawing, ordescribe it in this specification. I have shown in the drawing only themeans for taking current off the feeder, or conductor, and returning itto the return feeder, together with the parts constituting the presentinvention.

The conductors, or feeders, by which current is supplied to and returnedfrom the motor, are laid in conduits, or sub-ways, between the rails,one of said conduits being indicated by the numeral 2. The conductor, orfeeder arranged-therein is entirely inclosed, the top of the conduitbeingformedof aseries of contact-plates 3, having electric conductivity,but free from magnetic saturation. Each plate is isolated from the restby insulating material 4, and being substantially flush with the surfaceof the road-bed, the series of plates forms a contact surface for thetrolley 5, or other device for taking 0E, or returning the current. Eachconduit contains a main conductor, or feeder 6, suitably insulated, and

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a flexible, auxiliary conductor 7, composed wholly, or in part, of ametal capable of con-n ducting electricity and susceptible, also, tomagnetic attraction. Lying upon the main conductor, in suitableproximity to the contact-plates 3, it is lifted at, or near, the pointwhere the trolley, or brush 5, rests upon the contact-plates as shown inthe drawing, and is held in such engagement with said plates that asuiicient part of the current is taken off and supplied to the motor.

The specific forms in which the conduit and the main and auxiliaryfeedersrnay be used are shown and described in separate applications forLetters Patent filed by me of even date herewith, numbered in serial514,596 and 514,600. \Vith a system organized in this manner, it will beseen that the inclosed feeders are, normally, out of contact at allpoints save those beneath the contact-points of the trolleys or brushes.As the contactplates 3 are non-magnetic, while the auxiliary conductors7 are usually constructed in such manner that the soft iron filament ineach is inclosed between non-magnetic filaments, there is no ground forapprehending that the auxiliary feeder will stick, or adhere to theplates 3 after the car has passed. Moreover, the interval through whichthe auxiliary is lifted is so small that it is practically impossiblethat a permanent contact can occur, due to mechanical conditions. Inorder, however', to enable such an occurrence to be instantly detected,before the car has moved far enough to expose the point where it takesplace, I provide the following means: Mounted upon each end of the car,in any convenient position, as, for example, beneath the hood 8, is asignal, preferably of the audible type, such as an ordinary electricbell, or gong 9. Upon the body of the car, is a bracket l0, hanging fromits bottom and giving pivotal support to a long bar or rod l2, whichprojects upon both sides of the point of support, its extremities beingbetween the ends of the body of the lcar and the wheels. Upon each endof the bar is suitably mounted a device adapted to cond uct an electriccurrent through the medium of the contact-plates 3. This device may beof any preferred form such as a trolley 13, of somewhat less diameterthan the trolley 5. A wire 14C leads from each of these devices to thebell-coil, and as the bar l2 swings upon its pivotal axis in the bracket10, either end may be depressed and the other end simultaneously raised,so that the device which is in actual contact with the plates 3 mayfollow the rearmost trolley 5. Should the auxiliary feeder 7 remain inelectrical contact with a contact-plate, at any point, the trolley 13upon coming in contact with the same plate, will transmit current to thebellcoil and the signal 9 will be sounded, thereby informing themotorman, who stands beneath, that a dangerous condition exists. Thisnotification will take place before the car has gono far enough toexpose the plate which remains charged.

I may use two of the trolleys 13, at each end of the bar 12, each beingelectrically iso lated from the other and from the opposite end of thebar, the arrangement being such that one will travel upon each series ofcontact-plates.

The simplicity and utility of the invention require no comment.

What I claim is- 1. In an electric-railway, the combination with a cartaking current from a series of contact-plates, of an electricallyoperated signal, and contact devices connected with said signal andadjustable toward and from the contact-plates, in order to follow therearmost current collecting device, substantially as described.

2. In an electric-railway, the combination with a car taking currentfrom a series of contact-plates, of electrically operated signalsarranged at both ends of the car, a centrally su pported bar, anddevices mounted upon the ends thereof and electrically connected to saidsignals, substantially as described.

3.V In an electric-railway, the combination with closed conduits, a mainconductor and a flexible auxiliary conductor arranged in each of saidconduits, of a car having currentcollecting devices making electricalcontact with insulated plates closing the tops of said conduits, acentrally supported bar, a currentcollecting device on each end of saidbar ICO adapted to make contact with the insulated plates, au audiblesignal at each end of the car, and wires connecting said devices withthe signals, substantially as described.

4. In an electric-railway, the combination with a car havingcurrent-collecting devices moving upon contact-plates of audible signalsarranged at both ends of the car, a bar centrally pivoted on a brackethanging from the bottom of the car, current'collecting devices mountedon the ends of the bar, between the trolleys and the car-platforms, andwires connecting said devices with the signals, said bar beingadjustable on its support whereby one current-collecting device may bebrought into, and the other out of, contact with the contactplates,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and alxed my seal inpresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEON DION. [n s] Witnesses:

FRED JOY, ALFRED C. SMITH.

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